Horror thriller novelist JC Hutchins is at it again. This time, he’s taking his dark art cross-media. Coming in June, a hybrid Book/ARG supernatural thriller called Personal Effects: Dark Art. I was introduced recently to JC when he blogged his experience at the mobile FEAR lab for the video game F.E.A.R. 2, being the recipient of a mysterious silver briefcase. Since then, he’s been tirelessly promoting his upcoming novel Personal Effects: Dark Art, and the immersive online experience coupled with it. Published under St. Martin’s Press, and co-created with Jordan Weisman of Smith & Tinker (who also created Book/ARG experiences in Cathy’s Book and Cathy’s Key), Personal Effects: Dark Art is scheduled for public release on June 9th, 2009.

JC has been forging his way into cross-media storytelling recently with his previous, and very popular podcast thriller trilogy 7th Son, which paved the way for the fan-powered community The Ministry of Propaganda Online. He also maintains a series of additional podcasts to boot. JC’s been busy!

And now, J.C. Hutchins and Personal Effects creator Jordan Weisman are opening the doors of their bloody creation, and allowing you to step inside. You’re not getting a guided tour of The Brink. You’re … being committed.

Welcome to a first-ever in publishing called Commit Yourself To The Brink. Here, you’ll find ways to inject yourself into the Personal Effects universe and become a patient of art therapist Zach Taylor. Create a patient profile (complete with backstory), receive your admittance papers, contribute artwork, video and more … and earn the horrifically cool privilege to appear on Brinkvale’s official website.

Get creative. Get crazy. Get committed.

From the book:

Brinkvale Psychiatric was not built over the [brownstone] quarry, but in it. Nine stories of howling, brain-boiling madness, stacked two hundred feet into the bedrock. If you’re at The Brink, you’re at the end of the line. Only dead-enders need apply.

The physical Personal Effects novel includes a number of ‘personal effects’ such as photos, business cards, and other eerily realistic items that will help you, the reader, truly enter the world of Zach Taylor and Brinkvale Psychiatric Hospital. Explore the mystery and immerse yourself in the thrilling fiction created by these masters of the storytelling experience. The book is now available for pre-order via Amazon, and they’re promoting frantically to keep it rising in the Amazon best-sellers list, even before the book’s release!

To keep the promo train rolling, JC is also planning a podcast-exclusive prequel novella, for release in May titled Personal Effects: Sword of Blood.

Back in November, ARGNet sat down with JC Hutchins for an interview about Personal Effects, which can be viewed here, but others in the industry also have many good things to say about his work:

“So compelling is the journey, … readers may scarcely recognize their own transformation from passive to active, as they pick up where the text subsides and become the protagonist.”
–Gore Verbinski, director

“This is the future of storytelling, and it’s a thrilling ride.”
–Anthony E. Zuiker, Creator/Executive Producer of the CSI: franchise

“[A] rocking genre-mash that mixes mystery with psychodrama and serves it up in a high-bandwidth torrent of terror.”
–Scott Sigler, author of Infected and Contagious

Are you a visual artist, graphic designer or photographer? Want to show Brinkvale’s staff (and the world) the madness in your head? Perfect. Grab your paintbrushes, colored pencils, Wacom tablet … however you best express yourself … and get cooking on a piece of art worthy of The Brink’s patient gallery.

You’re welcome to use artwork you’ve already created, or whip up something brand-new for this assignment. Create your patient profile by filling out the form, upload your artwork, and become a patient at The Brink!